Tobacco stick pulling apparatus



R. D. JOY

TOBACCO STICK PULLING APPARA US Oct. 19, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledSept. 2, 1952 %-mmf,@Mm um data/77:27:

Oct. 19, 1954 R. D. JOY 2,6 2,060

TQBACCO STICK PULLING Filed Sept. 2, 1952 5 Sheets-sheet 2 I INVENTOR.

Raymond D. (/09 yam 11W 49m 14/! orxveys Oct. 19, 1954 R. o. JOY 2692,060

TOBACCO STICK PULLING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 l62 f \JO i T llllll II- l iflmmmmr W/ I INVENTOR.

Raymond 0. day

roam

Patented Oct. 19, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to an apparatus for facilitating the stripping ofcured, looped tobacco from a lath or stick on which they are supported.

conventionally, bunches of tobacco leaves are cured by spacing saidbunches longitudinally of a stick or lath, a single cord being extendedlength-wise of the stick, from side to side thereof, and being looped,at intervals spaced along its length, about the several bunches oftobacco leaves.

When the leaves have been properly cured, they must be removed fromtheir associated stick, and heretofore, the operation has, in general,been carried out manually. It will be appreciated that this operation issomewhat tedious, particularly when a large number of sticks or lathsare involved. In each instance, the card must be cut at severallocations along its length, to disengage the bunched tobacco leaves fromthe loops of the cord, after which the freed bunches must be suitablystacked, and the cut lengths of cord removed from the stick.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a self-contained,unitary apparatus adapted, by reason of a novel arrangement of thecomponents thereof, to cut the tobacco-engaging cord at the desiredlocations, stack the freed bunches of tobacco neatly, and clean the cutlengths of cord from the stick. I

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of thecharacter referred to wherein the several operations set forth abovewill be carried out automatically, it being necessary merely that anattendant be provided for feeding the sticks carrying the bunches intoone end of the apparatus, with an off-bearer being utilized at the otherend of the apparatus to remove the cleaned sticks for re-use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedapparatus of the character referred to wherein means will be providedthat will engage the freed bunches of tobacco when said bunches are cutaway from the stick, in such a manner as to cause said bunches to fallinto a neat stack.

Still another object of the invention is to provide, in an. apparatus ofthe character stated, a guideway for the tobacco sticks, said guidewaybeing defined by a series of rollers so arranged relative to the stickfed through the guideway thereby as to cause said stick to be properlypositioned within the guideway at all times, thereby to locate the stickproperly for cutting of the cord.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus asstated wherein a cord cleaning means will be provided, said cordcleaning means being so formed as to engage the several cut lengths ofcords after the tobacco bunches have been freed, in a manner wherebysaid cut lengths will all be cleaned eificiently from the stick.

Yet another object is to provide an apparatus of the character referredto which will be simple in construction, rugged, and substantiallytrouble free in operation.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claimsappended thereto, and from the annexed drawings, in which like referencecharacters designate like parts throughout the several views, andwherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a stripping apparatus formed inaccordance with the present invention, an upper feed belt being shown insection;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional View, on an enlarged scale, takensubstantially on line 2-2 of Figure 1, the apparatus being illustratedas it appears when in use during the stripping of bunches of tobaccofrom a stick;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view, on an enlarged scale,showing that portion of the apparatus disposed at the inlet end thereof,as it appears when in use; and

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on line 4-4of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the reference numeral H] has beenapplied generally, to designate a frame. It is proposed that this framewill be formed of fiat iron and angle iron material throughout, theseveral portions of the frame being welded or otherwise fixedlyconnected to provide a suitably rigid, open framework adapted to supportthe movable parts of the apparatus.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the frame Ill includes apair of inclined front legs l2 (Figure 2), and a pair of verticallydisposed rear legs l 4. Referring to Figure l, the upper ends of thefront and rear legs located at opposite sides of the frame are connectedby outer side rails I 6 extending longitudinally of the frame, each siderail being welded or otherwise fixedly secured, at its opposite ends, toa front leg l2 and a rear leg I 4. A rear cross member i8 is rigid atits opposite ends with the rear ends of the side rails l6, and extendstransversely of one end of the frame, a front cross member 28' beingrigid at its opposite ends with the frcnt ends of the side rails, andextending transversely of the frame in parallelism with the cross memberl8,

Extending longitudinally of the frame, in spaced, parallel relation, areouter longitudinal brace members 22, said brace members being welded attheir opposite ends to the respective cross members I8, 20. Innerlongitudinal brace members 24 are disposed in parallel relation, inclose proximity to the longitudinal center line of the frame, the innerbrace members 24 also being fixedly secured at their opposite ends tothe cross members I8, 20.

Angular braces 28 can be provided (Figure 1), to rigidify the frame,said braces 26 extending between the cross member 20 and the respectivefront legs I2.

It will be understood that the frame can, of course, be braced at anyother location, if de-' sired.

Disposed in longitudinal contact with the respective inner brace members22 are support bars 21 (Figures 1 and 2), said support bars being formedof angle iron material, and overlying the respective inner brace members22. The support bars 21 are coterminous with their associated bracemembers 22, and are adapted to provide supports for other parts of theapparatus to be described hereinafter.

Bolted or otherwise fixedly secured to the respective side rails Hi tothe cross member 20, are elongated, flat support arms 28, said armsconverging toward the front or inlet end of the apparatus, as best shownin Figure 1.

The convergent ends of the support arms 28 are spaced apart, at oppositesides of the longitudinal center line of the apparatus, and mounted onsaid convergent ends are parallel, fiat, extension arms 30. Theextension arms 30 are in parallelism with the longitudinal center lineof the frame, as shown in Figure 1, and are adjustable longitudinal ofthe frame, upon the support arms 28, for a purpose to be made apparent.To provide the adjustable connection of the extension arms 30 to theirassociated support arms 28, I form in each extension arm a longitudinalslot 3|, receiving a connecting bolt or equivalent fastening element 33,that projects upwardly through said slot, from the underlying endportion of the support arm 28. It will be understood that when theextension arm 30 of each support arm has been adjusted to a selectedposition longitudinally of the frame, the bolt 33 can be tightened orotherwise moved into clamping engagement with the extension arm, thus tohold the extension arm in the selected position to which it has beenadjusted.

Formed in the free ends of the respective extension arms 30 are openingsreceiving vertically disposed stub shafts 32, the openings of theextension arms being of slot-like formation, as shown at 34, thus topermit the stub shafts to be shifted to selected positionslongitudinally of their associated extension arms. In each position towhich the stub shafts are shifted, they are fixedly retained by means ofa lock nut 36 threaded upon the lower end of each stub shaft (Figure 2).

Carried by the stub shafts 32 are sleeve-type bearings, supportingpulleys 38. The pulleys 38 are spaced transversely of the frame, andconstitute front guide pulleys for the bunches of tobacco T.

Trained about the respective pulleys 38 are tobacco carrier belts 40,said belts extending about rear tobacco guide pulleys 42 rotatablymounted upon stub shafts 44 extending upwardly from the inner ends ofthe extension arms 30.

The purpose of the slots 34 is to permit the respective pulleys 38, 42to be adjusted as to the distance therebetween, thus to impart aselected amount of tension to the belts 4i! trained about said pulleys.

It will be understood that when the pulleys 38 and the pulleys 42 areoppositely rotated, the carrier belts 40 will engage between them thebunches of tobacco T in the manner shown in Figure 4, at a locationspaced below the upper ends of said bunches, thus to center the bunchesrelative to a stick S associated therewith, as an initial step in theoperation of stripping the bunches from the stick.

It is desirable that the leaves of the tobacco bunches be held againstaccidental entanglement with the rear pulleys 42, and to this end guardassemblies 46 are provided. Each guard assembly includes an arcuateplate, the plates of the guard assemblies extending about adjacentportions of the pulleys 42 in the manner shown in Figure 1, thus to keepthe leaves of the tobacco bunches from becoming entangled with saidpulleys. The arcuate plates of the guard assemblies are flanged at theirlower ends (see Figure 2), and are bolted to the respective extensionarms 30.

Mounted upon the mid-length portion of the cross member 28 is anupstanding fulcrum bracket 48, and welded or otherwise fixedly securedto said bracket, at a location intermediate the opposite ends of thebracket, is the inner end of a horizontally disposed knife support arm50.

As will be noted from Figure 2, the knife support arm 50 is extendedforwardly from the fulcrum bracket 48, the free or outer end of theknife support arm terminating above the guard assemblies 46, and beingdisposed immediately between the rear guide pulleys 42. Bolted orotherwise fixedly attached to said free end of the knife support arm 50is a spreader plate 52, said plate being of substantially triangularformation (see Figure 1), and having a pointed end coinciding with thelongitudinal center line of the apparatus. From Figure 3, it will beseen that the pointed end of the spreader plate 52 is so disposed as toextend between the upper or cord engaged ends of the tobacco bunches T,thus to cause said upper ends of the bunches to be urged laterally andoutwardly from the opposite sides of this stick S from which the bunchesare suspended.

Integral with the rearwardly diverging side edges of the spreader plate52 are upwardly inclined, laterally projected knives 54, having cuttingedges disposed obliquely to the path of movement of the stick S. As aresult, when the upper ends of the bunches are spread by the plate 52,the cord 0, which is looped about the upper ends of the several bunches,will be tensioned, and will be disposed transversely of the cuttingedges of the knives. By reason of the oblique disposition of saidcutting edges, said cords will be cut, during movement of the sticklongitudinally of the apparatus, the cord being cut at several locationsspaced along its length, at opposite sides of the stick.

It is desirable that the stick S be disposed in a predetermined positionwhile being fed through the apparatus, to insure the proper location ofthe cord C relative to the cutting edges of the knives 54, and to thisend, a front presser roller 56 is provided, spaced vertically of andabove the spreader plate and knives. Trained about the front presserroller 55 is a wide presser belt 58, said belt being adapted to engagethe top surface of the stick S when the stick is fed along the guidewayprovided therefor on the frame.

The purpose of the belt 58 is to hold the cut lengths of the cord C uponthe stick, at this stage of the operation, said belt also serving toretain the stick in a predetermined position in which it is alignedlongitudinally with the longitudinal center line of the apparatus.

The belt 58 is of the endless type and is trained about a rear presserroll 60, the rear presser roll being formed to a diameter substantiallygreater than the diameter of the front presser roll 56.

To provide for a rotatable mounting of the front presser roll 56, saidfront presser roll is mounted upon a shaft 62 journaled at its oppositeends in the opposite legs of a U-shaped yoke or bracket 54. The bracket64 is provided with a stud 66, said stud being fixedly secured to thebight of the bracket, and extending into one end of a tubular rock arm68. The end of the arm 56 into which the stud 65 extends is formed(Figure 3) with a longitudinal slot it receiving a lug l2 projectinglaterally and outwardly from the stud 66.

The stud 66 is threaded, as shown in Figure 3, and engaged with thethreads of the stud is an adjusting nut 13, bearing upon the adjacentend of the arm 68.

It will be understood that on rotation of the adjusting nut 73, thebracket M will be adjusted toward or away from the adjacent end of thearm 68, as desired, this adjustment being for the purpose of imparting aproper tension to the belt 58.

Rigid with that end of the arm 68 remote from the pulley 56 is the bightof a U-shaped yoke it, the legs of which embrace the rear presser rollerBil. Journaled at its opposite ends in said legs of the yoke 76 is ashaft 18 on which the roller 50 is rotatably mounted.

The ends of the shaft 18 project beyond their associated legs of theyoke 16, and are received in openings formed in the upper ends ofvertically disposed standards 80. In this way, the yoke 16 is connectedat opposite sides thereof to the standards 8%], the connection being apivotal connection.

Intermediate its opposite ends, the rockable arm 68 is embraced by andis supported upon the upper end of the fulcrum bracket 48, said bracket48 being formed, at said upper end thereof, with fork arms llistraddling the arm 8%.

By reason of this arrangement, it is seen that on upward movement of thestandards 85], the pulley or roller 66 will be shifted upwardly, the arm68 rocking about a transverse axis disposed at a location correspondingto that at which the arm 68 is supported upon the bracket 48. Up wardmovement of the roller 66 will, of course, result in downward movementof the roller 55.

Intermediate the opposite ends of the respective standards 80, I providestick guide rollers 82, said rollers rotating in horizontal planes, andbeing spaced laterally of the longitudinal center line of the apparatus,as shown in Figure l. The rollers 82 engage opposite sides of the stickS, to aid in the proper positioning of the stick during movement of thestick from end to end of the frame.

The portions of the standards Bl) on which the guide rollers 82 arerotatably mounted are reduced relative to the upper ends of saidstandards, and are slidable in support sleeves 84 rigidly mounted uponthe respective support barsZ'l.

The lower ends of'the standards project below the sleeves 84, as shownin Figure 2, and circumposed about said lower ends of the stand-- ardsare coiled compression springs 86, said springs having their upper endsabutting against the undersides of the support bars 21, and their lowerends abutting against cross pins 88 provided upon the standards 80.

By reason of this construction, it will be seen that a stick S fed underthe rear presser roller 68 will urge said presser roller upwardly,against the restraining action of the springs 86. When, however, thestick has passed'fully beyond the rear presser roller, the springs 86,tending to expand, will return the rear presser roller to the normalposition thereof shown in Figure 2, in which position the front presserroller 56 will be elevated to a sufiicient extent to receive the nextstick S to be fed through the machine.

The tobacco earrierbelts 40 are adapted to be driven from a suitablesource of power, and to this end, drive belts 90 are provided, saiddrive belts being trained about drive pulleys 94 mounted upon theopposite ends of a drive shaft 96. The drive shaft 96 is disposedtransversely of the frame, and is journaled in bearings 98 mounted uponthe respective support bars '21.

For the purpose of rotating the drive shaft 56 at a selected rate ofspeed, I provide reduction gearing designated generally at I00, saidreduction gearing being powered from a motor H12 mounted upon a motorsupport plate 104 secured to the frame Ill.

The drive belts 90 are extended about driven pulleys 92, said pulleysbeing keyed or otherwise secured to the upper ends of the stub shafts94.

By reason of this construction, it is seen that operation of the motorHi2 will be effective to transmit movement to the carrier belts 40, at aselected, reduced rate of speed.

To further assist in the proper positioning of the stick S duringmovement of said stick longitudinally of the frame, and also to providea means for feeding the stick longitudinally of the apparatus, I providea stick feed roller IGB, said roller being keyed or otherwise attachedto the drive shaft 96, for rotation with said drive shaft. The feedroller I06 is mounted for rotation in a vertical plane, and is alignedwith the longitudinal center line of the guideway through which thestick S is to be fed, as best shown in Figure 1. The feed roller I05 isdisposed below and slightly forwardly of the rear presser roller 60, andengages the underside of the stick, to insure movement of said stickalong the guideway, in cooperation with the presser roller 60, whichwill be exerting a downward pressure against the upper surface of thestick tending to hold the stick in frictional engagement with the feedroller I 06.

Mounted rearwa'rdly of and aligned with the roller I06 is in idlerroller I08, mounted rotatably upon a shaft journaled at its oppositeends between the support bars 21.

As shown in Figure 2, a cord wiping means l in is provided, said meansbeing mounted upon the bracket 76, adjacent the periphery of the rearpresser roller 60. The means H0 is formed as an angular finger, and hasthe function of engaging any cut lengths of cord that may tend to stickto the belt 58 when the stick S passes out from under the pulley 60.

It may be noted that when a cord C is attached to a stick S, theopposite ends of said cord are tied about the respective ends ofthestick, and accordingly, will not have been cut by the knives 54, saidknives acting only upon those portions of the cord looped about thebunches of tobacco leaves '1'. Therefore, means H4 is provided, thatcuts the cord at the opposite ends of the stick, said means comprising ahook-shaped knife pivotally mounted upon a bracket I I2 and spring urgedin a direction to hold the cutting or hook-shaped end of the knifeagainst the underside of the stick.

As a last step in the operation, the cut lengths of cord are cleanedfrom the stick so as to leave the stick ready for re-use. The means forcleaning the cut lengths of cord from the stick has been shown inFigures 1 and 2, and comprises a frame H6 of inverted U-shape, the legsof which are connected to the respective support bars 21. The frame H6is disposed in a plane obliquely related to the stick S movingthereunder, and has a plurality of depending, spring steel fingers H8adapted to wipe over the upper surface and sides of the stick. Thus,when the stick passes under the finger support frame H6, said fingerswill flex as shown in Figure 2, and will engage the cut lengths of cordto clean said lengths from the stick.

Considering the functional characteristics of the apparatus, it may benoted, at the outset, that conventionally, the sticks 6 may vary as tocross sectional shape and size. Further, it is common practice for thecord to be knotted at one end to the stick, said cord being extendedfrom side to side of the stick as shown in Figure 3, and being looped,at intervals spaced along its length, around the upper ends of thebunches T, said bunches being thus suspended from opposite sides of thestick. When the stick, with the bunches suspended therefrom, is fed intothe inlet end of the apparatus, it moves into a guideway disposedlongitudinally and centrally of the apparatus, and defined by theseveral rollers 55, 60, 82, W6, and H18.

As the front end of the stick is engaged by the presser belt 58 and thefront presser roller 56, the first bunch of tobacco leaves will beengaged, intermediate its ends, between the pulleys 38, thus to centerthe bunches relative to the stick S in the manner shown in Figure 3.

As the stick continues its movement along the guideway, the ponted endof the spreader plate will extend between the cord-engaged upper ends ofthe bunches, and will bias said upper ends outwardly from the oppositesides of the stick, thus to tension the cord C at locations spaced alongits length, and position said cord for cutting by the knives 54.

Even though the bunches will now have been cut away from the stick, theywill be held upwardly, at this stage of the operation, by reason oftheir engagement between the carrier belts 40. When, however, thebunches move out of engagement with said carrier belts, they willgravitate to a location below the frame. By reason of the momentum giventhe bunches due to movement of said bunches along the carrier belts,said bunches will tend to fall toward the right when they are viewed asin Figure 2, as they gravitate to the floor surface.

Meanwhile, the lower ends of the bunches will have been engaged by atrip bar I20 extending between and fixedly connected at its oppositeends to the respective inclined legs E2. The re- 8 sult will be that thebunches will fall in the manner shown in Figure 2, and will be disposedhorizontally when they strike the fioor surface, thus to be neatlystacked upon said surface.

As the stick continues its movement along the guideway, the front end ofthe stick will be engaged between the rear presser roller 60 and thepulleys I06, I08. The roller 69 will shift upwardly against the actionof the springs 86, in the manner hereinbefore described, to accommodatesticks of different cross sectional thicknesses, while still holdingsaid sticks properly positioned in the guideway. Movement of the stickslaterally of the guideway is prevented, of course, by the side guiderollers 82, which will be in rollable engagement with the opposite sidesurfaces of the stick.

The cut lengths of cord will, at this stage of the operation, be held inengagement with the stick S by the belt 58.

As the stick passes out of engagement with the rollers 60, I06, I08, anyout lengths tending to adhere to the belt 58 will be wiped therefrom bythe means Hll. The knotted ends of the cord will then be cut by theknife H4, and any remaining lengths of cord on the stick will be cleanedtherefrom by the fingers I It.

It will be seen that the apparatus constituting the present invention isthus capable of receiving sticks having conventionally suspended bunchesof tobacco, the apparatus automatically acting upon the sticks, bunches,and cord in a manner effective to cut the bunches away, stack themneatly in a pile beneath the frame, and clean the sticks for subsequentre use.

It is believed clear that the invention is not necessarily confined tothe specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may beutilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the inventionto be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated anddescribed, since such construction is only intended to be illustrativeof the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carryout said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehendsany minor change in c0nstruction that may be permitted within the scopeof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for stripping bunches of tobacco leaves from sticks atopposite sides of which they are suspended by a cord looped thereabout,com-' prising: a frame having a guideway; stick-feeding means on theframe disposed adjacent said guideway and arranged for feeding a sticktherealong; a spreader mounted in the guideway for urging thecord-engaged bunches laterally and outwardly from the respective sidesof their associated stick, thereby to tension said cord; knife means onthe frame disposed adjacent said spreader in the path of the tensionedcord for cutting the same, thereby to free the cord-engaged bunches forgravitation from the stick; and cord-wiping means on the frame disposedproximate the guideway to clean cut lengths of cord from the stick.

2. Apparatus for stripping bunches of tobacco leaves from a stick atopposite sides of which they are suspended in a longitudinal series by asingle cord looped about the stick, comprising: a frame having anelongated, longitudinal guideway; stick-feeding means on the framedisposed adjacent said guideway and arranged for feeding a sticktherealong; a spreader mounted in the guideway for urging successivelyfollowing,

cord-engaged bunches laterally and outwardly from the respective sidesof their associated stick on feeding of the stick longitudinally of theguideway, thereby to tension said cord; knife means on the framedisposed in close proximity to said spreader in the path of thetensioned cord for cutting the same, thereby to free the cordengagedbunches for gravitation from the stick; and cord-wiping means on theframe disposed proximate the guideway in the path of the cut lengths ofcord, to clean said cut lengths from the stick.

3. Apparatus for stripping bunches of tobacco leaves from a stick atopposite sides of which they are suspended in a longitudinal series by asingle cord looped about the stick, comprising: a frame having anelongated, longitudinal guideway; a series of rollers on the framespaced longitudinally of said guideway and arranged for feeding a sticktherealong; a spreader mounted in the guideway below the roller at oneend of the series, for urging successively following, cordengagedbunches laterally and outwardly from the respective sides of theirassociated stick responsive to feeding of the stick longitudinally ofthe guideway, thereby to tension said cord; knife means on the framedisposed in close proximity to said spreader in the path of thetensioned cord for cutting the same, thereby to free the cordengagedbunches for gravitation from the stick; and cord wiping means on theframe disposed proximate the guideway in the path of the cut lengths ofcord, to clean said out lengths from the stick.

4. Apparatus for stripping bunches of tobacco leaves from a stick atopposite sides of which they are suspended in a longitudinal series by asingle cord looped about the stick, comprising: a frame having anelongated, longitudinal guideway; a series of rollers on the framespaced longitudinally of said guideway and arranged for feeding a sticktherealong; a triangular spreader plate mounted in the guideway belowthe roller at one end of the roller series and having a pointed endextending between the bunches for urging successively following,cord-engaged bunches laterally and outwardly from the respective sidesof their associated stick responsive to feeding of the sticklongitudinally of the guideway, thereby to tension said cord; a pair ofknives formed upon opposite sides of the spreader plate in the path ofthe tensioned cord for cutting the same, thereby to free thecord-engaged bunches for gravitation from the stick; and cord-wipingmeans on the frame disposed proximate the guideway adjacent the otherend of said series of rollers in the path of the cut lengths of cord,and adapted for cleaning said cut lengths from the stick.

5. Apparatus for stripping bunches of tobacco leaves from a stick atopposite sides of which they are suspended in a longitudinal series by asingle cord looped about the stick, comprising: a frame having anelongated, longitudinal guideway; a series of rollers on the framespaced longitudinally of said guideway and arranged for feeding a sticktherealong; means associated with at least one of said rollers yieldablyurging the same in the direction of the guideway and adapted fordisposing said stick in a predetermined position within the guideway; atriangular spreader plate mounted in the guideway below the roller atone end of the roller series and having a pointed end extendible betweenthe bunches when said stick is positioned within the guideway for urgingsuccessively following, cordengaged bunches laterally and downwardlyfrom the respective sides of their associated stick responsive tofeeding of the stick longitudinally of the guideway, thereby to tensionsaid cord; a pair of knives formed upon opposite sides of the spreaderplate and disposed in the path of the tensioned cord in said position ofthe stick for cutting said cord, thereby to free the cordengaged bunchesfor gravitation from the stick; and cord-wiping means on the framedisposed proximate the guideway adjacent the other end of said series ofrollers in the path of the cut lengths of cord, and adapted for cleaningsaid out lengths from the stick.

6. Apparatus for stripping bunches of tobacco leaves from a stick atopposite sides of which they ar suspended in a longitudinal series by asingle cord looped about the stick, comprising: a frame having anelongated, longitudinal guideway; pairs of pulleys mounted on the frameat opposite sides of and below one end of said guideway; belts trainedabout the pulleys of said pairs to provide means engaging said bunchesat opposite sides thereof to center the bunches relative to theirassociated stick; a series of rollers on the frame spaced longitudinallyof said guideway and arranged for feeding a stick therealong; meansassociated with at least one of said rollers yieldably urging the samein the direction of the guideway and adapted for disposing said stick ina predetermined position thereon; a triangular spreader plate mounted inthe guideway below the roller at one end of the roller series and havinga pointed end extendible between the upper ends of the centered bunchesfor urging successively following, cord-engaged bunches laterally andoutwardly from the respective sides of their associated stick responsiveto feeding of the stick longitudinally of the guideway, thereby totension said cord; a pair of knives formed upon opposite sides of thespreader plate in the path of the tensioned cord for cutting the same,thereby to free the cord-engaged bunches for gravitation from the stick;and cord-wiping means on the frame disposed proximate the guidewayadjacent the other end of said series of rollers in the path of th cutlengths of cord, and adapted for cleaning said out lengths from thestick.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,862,192 Michaux, Jr, June 7, 1932 2,131,499 Cruse Sept. 2'7,1938 2,463,276 I-Irabarchuk Mar. 1, 1949 2,538,698 McNeill Jan. 16, 1951

